The incidence of subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is stable, at around six cases per 100 000 patient years. Any apparent decrease is attributable to a higher rate of CT scanning, by which other haemorrhagic conditions are excluded. Most patients are <60 years of age. Risk factors are the same as for stroke in general; genetic factors operate in only a minority. Case fatality is approximately 50% overall (including pre-hospital deaths) and one-third of survivors remain dependent. Sudden, explosive headache is a cardinal but non-specific feature in the diagnosis of SAH: in general practice, the cause is innocuous in nine out of 10 patients in whom this is the only symptom. CT scanning is mandatory in all, to be followed by (delayed) lumbar puncture if CT is negative. The cause of SAH is a ruptured aneurysm in 85% of cases, non-aneurysmal perimesencephalic haemorrhage (with excellent prognosis) in 10%, and a variety of rare conditions in 5%. Catheter angiography for detecting aneurysms is gradually being replaced by CT angiography. A poor clinical condition on admission may be caused by a remediable complication of the initial bleed or a recurrent haemorrhage in the form of intracranial haematoma, acute hydrocephalus or global brain ischaemia. Occlusion of the aneurysm effectively prevents rebleeding, but there is a dearth of controlled trials assessing the relative benefits of early operation (within 3 days) versus late operation (day 10-12), or that of endovascular treatment versus any operation. Antifibrinolytic drugs reduce the risk of rebleeding, but do not improve overall outcome. Measures of proven value in decreasing the risk of delayed cerebral ischaemia are a liberal supply of fluids, avoidance of antihypertensive drugs and administration of nimodipine. Once ischaemia has occurred, treatment regimens such as a combination of induced hypertension and hypervolaemia, or transluminal angioplasty, are plausible, but of unproven benefit.

/pdf/subarachnoid-haemorrhage-diagnosis-causes-and-management-2bxfcfscjw.pdf

Subarachnoid haemorrhage: diagnosis, causes and management

A report of two cases

Imatinib, a potent inhibitor of the oncogenic tyrosine kinase BCR-ABL, has shown remarkable clinical activity in patients with chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML). However, this drug does not completely eradicate BCR-ABL-expressing cells from the body, and resistance to imatinib emerges. Although BCR-ABL remains an attractive therapeutic target, it is important to identify other components involved in CML pathogenesis to overcome this resistance. What have clinical trials of imatinib and studies using mouse models for BCR-ABL leukaemogenesis taught us about the functions of BCR-ABL beyond its kinase activity, and how these functions contribute to CML pathogenesis?

http://nsmn1.uh.edu/frankino/assets/docs/lifesciseries/asmussen/ren.pdf

Mechanisms of BCR-ABL in the pathogenesis of chronic myelogenous leukaemia.

Pathogenesis and natural history of osteonecrosis.

Objective: The Acromegaly Consensus Group reconvened in November 2007 to update guidelines for acromegaly management. Participants: The meeting participants comprised 68 pituitary specialists, including neurosurgeons and endocrinologists with extensive experience treating patients with acromegaly. Evidence/Consensus Process: Goals of treatment and the appropriate imaging and biochemical and clinical monitoring of patients with acromegaly were enunciated, based on the available published evidence. Conclusions: The group developed a consensus on the approach to managing acromegaly including appropriate roles for neurosurgery, medical therapy, and radiation therapy in the management of these patients.

https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/downloads/6h440v93c

Guidelines for Acromegaly Management: An Update

Summary. A case of paraganglioma of the filum terminale is presented where normal sympathetic ganglion cells were seen in conjunction with tumour cells in a well-encapsulated tumour, suggesting a possible origin from heterotopic sympathetic ganglion.

http://rd.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2FBF00314201.pdf

Report of a case and review of the literature

In the early days of the war between Iran and Iraq, reports of the sudden deaths of soldiers who previously had survived a penetrating head injury suggested the possibility that a late complication, traumatic aneurysm (TA), could be the cause of this catastrophe. In response, the authors planned a prospective study to perform cerebral angiography in victims with penetrating head traumas, especially in those who had artillery shells or bone fragments passing through areas of dense vasculature. Thirty-one TAs and arteriovenous fistulas were documented. Not all of the lesions, however, were deemed appropriate for surgical intervention. Six aneurysms (19.4%) healed spontaneously and shrank or disappeared on repeated serial angiograms. The authors present their cases and discuss the incidence of TAs, their natural course and behavior, and the special problems encountered in managing these interesting and potentially fatal complications of penetrating head injuries.

Traumatic aneurysms and arteriovenous fistulas of intracranial vessels associated with penetrating head injuries occurring during war: principles and pitfalls in diagnosis and management: A survey of 31 cases and review of the literature

The objective of this work was to gain more insight into the controversial characteristics of meningiomas occurring during childhood and adolescence. Management of meningiomas is an important field in pediatric neurosurgery. Every pediatric neurosurgeon has tried to resolve the problems relating to the clinical characteristics, biological behavior and outcome of this interesting and almost benign pathology, which rarely occurs in the first two decades of life. The records on central nervous system (CNS) tumors held by the two major neurosurgery centers of Tehran Medical University and Arad General Hospital were prospectively collected during last 15 years. Complete medical records are available for all 24 cases, and long-term follow-up was achieved 19 patients. All the cases were diagnosed and treated after the introduction of computed tomographic (CT) scanning. Angiography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed as complementary studies in some cases. The sample consisted of 13 girls and 11 boys. The age range at the time of diagnosis varied between 2 and 17 years, with a mean of 9.47 and standard deviation of 3.43. Fifteen patients were below 10 years of age (62.5%), and 9 of them were between 10 and 17 years old (37.5%). The most common presenting symptoms, in declining order of frequency, were headache, epilepsy and focal neurological deficits. Similar cases associated with neurofibromatosis either at the time of presentation with meningioma or during the follow-up period were excluded (5 cases). The size of the presenting tumor was more than 5 cm in diameter in 17 cases. The locations of the lesions, taken as the site of the presumed widest dural base in each case were: spinal, orbital, ethmoidal and sphenoethmoidal in 1 case each, petroclival in 2, and tentorial or supratentorial in 18 patients. The only predisposing factor in this series of childhood meningiomas was whole-axis irradiation for previous malignancy in the case presenting with cervical intradural meningioma. There have been no surgical deaths, and gross total excision of the lesions was achieved in 21 cases. Tumor recurrence was observed during the follow-up period in 6 cases (25%). The follow-up period varied between 2 and 165 months, with a median interval of 130.2 months. This series of pediatric CNS meningiomas comprises almost 1.08% of all meningiomas operated on by the authors during the last 15 years and it also accounts for about 1.1% of all pediatric CNS tumors encountered. This series of patients has certain characteristics regarding sex distribution, unusual size, peculiar localizations, special histological features and benign clinical behavior distinguishing it from other series reported in the literature.

Meningiomas of the central nervous system occurring below the age of 17: report of 24 cases not associated with neurofibromatosis and review of literature.

The authors report four very rare radiation-associated tumors (or radiation-induced tumors; RITs) of the central nervous system (CNS) and review the literature on this topic. The purpose of this study was to determine the possible relationship between the harmful effects of radiation therapy, the shortest and the longest interval between the time of irradiation and the occurrence of the secondary tumor, and possible predisposing factors. The tumorigenic effects of therapeutic irradiation of the CNS have been mentioned in the literature, but the authors' literature search did not disclose either many reports of cases such as their own or a satisfactory and concise discussion on the different aspects of the late and catastrophic complications of this method of adjunct therapy to the CNS. Four rare cases of RIT in three patients are presented: a unique case of intradural meningioma of the cervical spine, which was irradiated successfully only for the patient to present with a new high-grade cerebral astrocytoma 4 years later, a paraventricular cavernoma and a fronto-temporo-orbital chondrosarcoma. These second RITs became symptomatic in the 17th, 16th and 15th years of life, respectively, in these young patients. The primary lesions were ependymomas, two in the IV ventricle and one in the left hemisphere. The time intervals between radiation and secondary tumor presentation were 14 and 18 years, 9 years and 28 months, in the order in which these patients presented. All the patients survived the second operation except the one with chondrosarcoma, who died in spite of repeated surgical interventions and adjunct therapies. It is concluded that the development of secondary RITs does not necessarily require a very long time interval; that although sarcomas are the most common RITs of the CNS in childhood and adolescence, benign and other rare and curable lesions may also occur in the field or vicinity of the field of radiation; and that in view of the possibility of occurrence of different types of RITs after varying time intervals in a single patient, whole-life followup of similar patients is mandatory.

Radiation-induced tumors of the central nervous system occurring in childhood and adolescence : Four unusual lesions in three patients and a review of the literature

✓ Seventeen cases of aneurysmal bone cyst of the spine are reported. Clinical manifestations, methods of investigation, differential diagnosis, treatment, and pathogenesis are discussed. The condition is essentially a benign lesion, affects a young age group, and grows rapidly, often producing a paravertebral mass. Occasionally it becomes acutely exacerbated, causing irreversible damage to the spinal cord. For these reasons, prompt diagnosis and timely treatment are important. Excision of the lesion is the treatment of choice but, if not feasible, thorough curettage and radiotherapy not exceeding 2000 rads are indicated. With a two-stage operation, excision of the lesion is often possible, and the stability of the vertebral column is assured with bone-graft fusions.

Kazem Abbassioun

Papers

Report of a case and review of the literature

Traumatic aneurysms and arteriovenous fistulas of intracranial vessels associated with penetrating head injuries occurring during war: principles and pitfalls in diagnosis and management: A survey of 31 cases and review of the literature

Meningiomas of the central nervous system occurring below the age of 17: report of 24 cases not associated with neurofibromatosis and review of literature.

Radiation-induced tumors of the central nervous system occurring in childhood and adolescence : Four unusual lesions in three patients and a review of the literature

Aneurysmal bone cysts of the spine. Report of 17 cases.